My wife recently started an LLC and, after building up some cash, she's wondering how she pays herself. She's the only person involved in the LLC. Can she transfer money out of her LLC account to her personal account as payment for work whenever she wants?

Now that we know this is a disregarded entity, this isn't a tax question, it's an accounting question which should be addressed to her accountant, whom any Fool or Foolish spouse would consult before starting up a business. I take it she didn't. More on that anon.

The short answer to the tax question is it doesn't matter what she does about draws. She'll report the business's income and expenses on Schedule C regardless of whether she took any cash out of it or not. What she "pays" herself doesn't affect the business's bottom line for tax purposes.

Once the dust settles on filing season strongly urge her to invest in a consulation with an accountant. Among the topics:

The IRS has Pub 334, which I would suggest she get in hard copy. (It's pretty long.) She can peruse that for possible topics of discussion, but nothing beats a personal discussion with someone who knows this stuff. Over the long haul she'll save a lot more than she spends.